


I Can’t Leave (papa said he’d be back soon)

by YourAverage3amFicWriter



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abandonment, Adopted Toby Smith | Tubbo, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Good Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Dadschlatt, Other, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Ram Hybrid Toby Smith | Tubbo, Toby Smith | Tubbo and Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, Twins Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Two Shot, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, Winged Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29404935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourAverage3amFicWriter/pseuds/YourAverage3amFicWriter
Summary: He didn’t know how to respond to the brunette’s question. How do you tell your son that you’re never coming back?He didn’t.
Relationships: Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 177





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young ram hybrid his left behind with promises that his father will return, instead a different family finds him.

A broad shouldered man quietly hurried down the street, holding a rather full cardboard box close to his chest. The streets were empty, only being lit up by the dim moonlight as well as the occasional streetlight hanging above. Whenever a car would rush by, the man would instinctively stiffen and pull the box closer to his chest until the car passed, then he hurried on.

His ram-like ears twitched when he heard shifting in the box, followed by a small squeak. The man glanced down into the box to see the small, brunette boy laying inside had woken up. He smiled down at his son when the young boy blinked up at his, sorrow ripping into his chest as he fought back tears. He had already shed enough.

“Mmm... Papa?” His son murmured tiredly, snuggling in deeper beneath his blanket as holding the small bee plush his father had stolen for him close as he tried to stay warm when the chill night air washed over him.

His father didn’t respond, afraid that he would cry if he did. He began to pick up his pace, his eyes darting across the streets before finally slowing to a stop.

The man stared at an empty parking lot, the lights to the building shut off to signify that no one was there. He hesitantly walked to the parking lot, his nerves on edge as he held the box where his son laid even closer to himself as his eyes scouring the area hesitantly. At last his eyes landed on a small tucked away spot near the edge of the parking lot where a dumpster sat and a tree hung above. He examined at it for a little while longer, noting how the dumpster would help block the wind and the tree would offer resistance to any possible rain until somebody found him, before making his way over to it.

The world almost seemed to slow down as the man carefully placed the box down, tucked between both the tree and the dumpster. At this point, the small brunette had sat up in his box, looking at his father with wide eyes as he held his bee close. “Papa..? What are we doing here?” He asked tiredly, rubbing his eyes.

His father took in a deep, trembling breath as he fought back tears. “Hey bud... I need you to do something for me, okay?” He said softly, scared of raising his voice above a whisper, “You can do something for me, right? You’re very, very good at listening.”

The young boy nodded quickly, offering his father a grin although it was still clear he was confused about what was going on.

“Alright good,” He responded, trying to offer the brunette a reassuring smile. “I’m- I’m going to need you to stay here for a little while with your bee and blanket, okay?” His son looked even more confused as he held his bee closer, “Are you staying here too?” He squeaked out, his small ram-like ears lowering as he stared up at his father with wide eyes.

His father’s breath hitched and tears welled up in his eyes, he brought up his large, trembling hand to cup his son’s face gently. He shook his head, biting his lip before speaking again, “No, I can’t stay here with you, I have to go...”

“Oh...” His son responded quietly, seemingly growing more distressed as he grabbed onto the sleeve of his father’s jacket. “When- When are you coming back?” He asked, his voice raising slightly with worry.

The ram hybrid had to quietly shush his son, worried that some person around might hear the two of them. He didn’t know how to respond to the brunette’s question. How do you tell your son that you’re never coming back?

He didn’t.

He swallowed heavily as a few tears rolled down his face before croaking out a response, “Soon...” He whispered, his throat tight with emotions, “I’ll be back soon kiddo... But I’ll need you to stay here until then, alright?”

His son immediately seemed to brighten up at that as he grinned widely at the man, “Okay!” He said determinedly as he looked up at his father.

A sob escaped the man’s throat and he pulled his son close, knocking his head lightly into his as he pressed their foreheads together. “Take care of yourself kiddo, remember that I love you.” He choked out, squeezing his eyes shut as more tears slipped out.

The small brunette loosely grabbed onto one of his father’s large ram horns and smiled at his father, “Don’t cry, papa. You’ll be back soon!” He said as he rubbed the man’s face in an attempt to dry his tears.

His father inhaled, trembling violently before planting a kiss atop his son’s forehead and pulling away. He looked back at his son one last time before walking out of the parking lot, not daring to turn back again before running off into the night.

It took everything in the young ram hybrid to not whimper as the loss of his father’s warmth. He quickly shook his head, wrapping his blanket tightly around himself. It would be fine, he thought to himself as he laid down, a soft, hopeful smile on his face, papa would be back soon.

Right?

~~~~~

A young blonde ran through the woods, if you could even call it that, branches and undergrowth scraping and whipping at his pants and shirt as well as pebbles and small pieces of rubble poking into his bare feet as he ran. However, this did not slow the mischievous boy down.

He could hear his older brothers shouting after him, but it wasn’t long before he realized that it was clear that the two of them had lost their younger brother to the woods.

The three of them had been tasked with chores that morning, but Tommy would much rather explore than be trapped cleaning up the messy house, despite the fact that the most of the mess was due to his own mischief.

Tommy, his two older brothers, Wilbur and Techno, as well as their father, Philza, lived closer to the edge of town where more trees had grown around, scattered across the areas where houses weren’t built yet. This left a lot of area for Phil’s sons to run around and find cool new places.

The blonde stumbled into a small parking lot where only around 6 cars were parked, nearly tripping over his own feet. Tommy immediately recognized the place as a small restaurant that Phil had taken them to eat a couple times.

Tommy shifted from foot to foot, rubbing the bottom of his foot on the opposite pant leg in an attempt to dislodge some of the small pieces of rocks and gravel, disliking the way it felt before continuing to look around. He couldn’t see anything special, it was just a normal old parking lot, and considered going back into the woods to continue looking around before he heard the sound of something moving.

His eyes immediately widened as he looked in the direction the sound had come from, a dumpster resting next to a tree.

A smile crossed his face as he wondered what he had found this time. It had only been around a month since he had found a squirrel and brought that home. Sure he might’ve got in trouble and sure it might’ve got loose before getting stuck into the chimney, but Tommy still thought it didn’t go that badly.

As he grew closer, an old cardboard box with tattered edges became visible. His suspicions that the box might be where what he had heard was hiding was confirmed when the box shifted slightly.

Tommy slowed down his pace slightly, not wanting to scare off whatever was in the box, raising himself onto his toes in an attempt to peak over the edge of the box quicker.

He gasped sharply in shock at the sight of the sleeping, curled up figure of a small brunette with a small ram tail, a pair of ram ears replacing where human ones would be, as well as a matching pair of small nubs atop his head.

Tommy wasn’t new to hybrids, both his father and older brother were hybrids themselves with Phil being a bird hybrid with large dark gray wings with white tips protruding out of his back and with Techno being a piglin hybrid with rather pink hued skin, pink hair, crimson hair, tusks that were only growing larger by the day, and a strange love for the color gold.

A ram hybrid however was something completely new to the young blonde, especially one laying in a dirty old box on the side of the road.

Without hesitating, Tommy suddenly took off into the woods, his feet carrying himself as he rushed home. By the time he suddenly burst through the bushes around his home, he was covered in dirt and scrapes, but he hardly noticed.

Wilbur, who had been taking out the trash, immediately looked up, his eyes widening upon seeing his little brother, “There you are you little gremlin!” He snapped at Tommy, clearly annoyed and angry, but Tommy ignored him and ran into the house.

After trailing plenty of dirt into the house, Tommy managed to stumble into the room where Philza and Techno were talking with Wilbur close on his tail. Phil and Techno immediately stopped, looking at Tommy in surprise, as well as annoyance given from Techno.

“Phil! Phil! Phil!” Tommy said quickly, grabbing onto his father’s sleeve and tugging it slightly, “You’ll never believe what I found! C‘mon! C’MON!”

Philza sighed slightly before ruffling Tommy’s hair with a tired smile, “Alright, we’ll check it out after we clean you up and finish cleaning the house.” He assured his youngest son, attempting to turn back to Techno.

The young blonde quickly tugged on Phil’s sleeve harder, taking his father by surprise and causing him to stumble a couple steps, “He might be gone by then though! Phil please!!”

Phil raised one eyebrow when Tommy used the pronoun ‘he’, but wasn’t able to speak up before Wilbur did.

“He probably just found another raccoon, just like himself.” The brunette said cheekily, giving Tommy a mischievous grin. Tommy puffed out his cheeks, shoving Wilbur slightly, “Fuck you!” He spat at his older brother, causing Wilbur to laugh, which Tommy quickly joined in with.

Phil pursed his lips slightly, clearly not completely enjoying the fact that his 4 year-old was using yet another new swear Wilbur had taught him, but didn’t say anything.

Tommy immediately stopped laughing when Phil responded, “Alright then, let’s just try to make it quick, okay?” He said, smiling at his sons fondly. A wide grin spread across his face and immediately bounced his head up and down, practically beginning to drag his father out of the house.

It didn’t take too long for Tommy to drag his father and pair of 10 year old brothers back to parking lot, although it still took longer than he would’ve liked due to the fact that he had wanted to run while the rest of his family was just fine with walking.

While Tommy quickly glanced around the parking lot, trying to remember where he had last seen the goat hybrid, his family took in the parking lot tiredly.

“You took us to this old restaurant?” Techno said, his voice as monotone as ever as he wrinkled his nose slightly at the sight of a mouse dragging a half eaten burger away, “Is the weird creature you wanted to show us this place’s food?” He continued, snorting slightly at his own home.

Tommy glares at his older brother, “No!” He protested, “and he’s not weird! I mean- Well maybe a little considering the...” He trailed off as he raised to fingers next to his head, meant to represent horns, but it just seemed to confuse his family even more.

He waved them off slightly before immediately freezing when he spotted the box once more, this time with the top of the boy’s head poking out the top to show that he was sitting up and revealing his messy brunette hair and tiny horns.

“See! Here he is!” Tommy said excitedly before racing over to the box and immediately startling the boy inside. He could hear his family walk up to the box behind him, but he didn’t take his eyes off the boy.

Wilbur and Techno stared at the ram hybrid in awe while a shocked gasp Philza. Tommy gave the young boy a large grin, unable to hide his excitement, “I knew you’d still be here!”

The ram boy looked at the three of them with wide eyes as his grip on a bee plush he was holding tightly onto only tightened even harder as he pulled back slightly.

No awake, Tommy got a better look at the boy. His hair was all messy and knotted in places. He was covered in dirt and grime and on top of that looked like he hadn’t been getting enough sleep.

“Oh! Don’t be scared!” Tommy said, growing worried that he might accidentally scare the ram boy off. He held his hand out to the boy with a smile on his face, “I’m Tommy!”

The young brunette looked at Tommy’s hands his expression changing to curiosity before a small smile spread across it and he took Tommy’s hand in his. “Hi Tommy.” He responded, although his voice clearly hadn’t been used in a fair amount of time.

“What is a kid doing out here all alone?” Phil asked aloud to no one in particular as he looked around, “Where are his parents?”

While Phil continued to look around the parking lot for any sign of where the boy could’ve come from with the help of Techno, Tommy continued to speak to him happily while Wilbur watched in both awe and curiosity.

“That’s a cool bee you got there!” Tommy pointed out happily, clearly excited to be talking to another kid who seemed to be his age. “Where’d you get it from?” The boy looked down at his bee before smiling back up at Tommy, “Papa gave it to me!” He said, sounding proud of his father.

By this point, Phil had made his way back over to the boys, looking down at the bee curiously. “Can I see it mate?” He asked gently, holding out a hand.

The boy immediately looked nervous once more, pulling the bee close to himself as he looked up at Philza with wide eyes. He glanced back over at Tommy, and only when he saw the blonde boy’s wide smile did he seem to relax before hesitantly handing it over to Phil.

Philza looked grateful, offering the dirty boy a comforting smile before looking over the bee, turning it in his hand. At last he found a small tag, hoping to find some sort of clue, but instead found three simple words.

“Property of Tubbo?” He said aloud, curiosity filling his voice, “Tubbo? Is your name Tubbo?” He decided to take the way the boy seemed to perk up the name as a confirmation before handing the bee toy back.

Tommy looked up at Phil, “Can we bring him home! Please! We can’t leave him out here!”

Phil seemed hesitant, yet determined. It was already hard raising 3 sons as a single father, he couldn’t imagine a 4th. He couldn’t just leave Tubbo here though. He couldn’t be much older than Tommy at the most, out here all on his own. At last, he finally came to the conclusion that he would take Tubbo home and help try to find his parents. After all, his parents had to he out there somewhere, worried sick for where their son could be.

Right?

“Yes, we can’t leave him out here with just a box.” Phil responded at last, looking back down at Tubbo, who had begun to look up at the two with wide, curious eyes, unaware of what they were talking about.

Phil knelt down on the ground in front of Tubbo in order to be more at his height level, “Okay Tubbo, we’re going to take you home to love with us for a little while, alright?”

Tubbo’s eyes immediately widened in horror at that idea and he rapidly shook his head back and forth. Phil’s gentle smile immediately dropped as he looked at the little boy worriedly, but Tommy was the first one to speak up.

“But why, don’t you want to come with us instead of being in this crumby old box?” He asked, clearly not wanting to say goodbye to the young ram hybrid that despite only just meeting, was already quite attached too.

Tubbo hugged his bee closely, looking down at the bottom of his box. “I can’t leave...” He squeaked out, “Papa said he would be back soon...”

Philza’s eyes widened and he was sure he could feel his heart start to crack a little. The family immediately seemed to understand, even little Tommy.

Tubbo had been abandoned with a promise of returning.

However, the promise would never be fulfilled.

“Look... Tubbo...” Phil started, struggling to figure out how to explain this to the young brunette. “You’re dad might not be back for a little while... So we want to bring you to our home so we can clean you up, get you fed. Then we can bring you back here, okay?”

Phil had absolutely no intentions to bring Tubbo back to live in this old box, but he didn’t know how else to convince the young boy to come with them.

Tubbo still looked hesitant, but he seemed much more willing to come with them with the promise of food and a return back to his waiting spot for his father.

“Mmm... Okay...” The ram hybrid said, still sounding unsure and looking more tired than he had this entire conversation.

Philza immediately perked up at that, smiling reassuringly at Tubbo as he gently scooped him up with his bee plush and dirty blanket. His wings curled up around Tubbo protectively before beginning the walk back home with Tommy staying right by his side, holding onto his sleeve as he looked up at Tubbo worriedly and Wilbur and Techno trailed behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A young ram hybrid misses his father, but ends up finding a new family instead.

By the time the family had gotten home, Tubbo had fallen asleep in Phil’s arms, snoring softly as he was brought inside the house. Tommy looked up at the young brunette with wide, curious eyes as he walked quickly in order to keep up with his father.

Phil gently placed Tubbo down on the couch, wrapping the ram hybrid up in his blanket before quickly picking up a contact list with the information of people that Phil had met or worked with over the course of time and handed it to Techno.

“Alright mate, I need you to call these people and ask each of them if they know any ram hybrids, especially any with a son or who is missing one.” The blonde man instructed his son.

Techno looked up at Phil in confusion, clearly trying to figure out why Phil was trying to make contact people to find Tubbo’s possible parents when it was clear that he had most likely been abandoned.

Most likely was the key though, wasn’t it?

Techno quickly realized that Phil was hoping that Tubbo had not, for a fact, been abandoned.

He nodded before looking down at the contact list, making his way over tot he phone and beginning to punch in the first number.

After that, Philza had begun to cook in the kitchen with the help of Wilbur to make a quick soup. After all, it didn’t seem like Tubbo hadn’t eaten well in at least a day.

Meanwhile, Tommy pulled himself onto the couch, sitting next to the sleeping Tubbo as he continued to look at him curiously. “Why do you think he was in a box of all places?” He inquired, looking back at his family.

Techno glared at Tommy slightly, pushing his fingers to his lips to tell his younger brother to be quieter before returning to speaking back over the phone.

Tommy wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out at his piglin hybrid older brother before turning his attention to Phil when his father chose to respond to his question.

“Who knows, he might’ve just gotten himself lost.” Phil spoke up, glancing over at his youngest son and the sleeping child on the couch worriedly, “Maybe he wandered away from his parents and decided the best course of action was to stay put.”

Philza knew story sounded flimsy, it sure as hell seemed out there, but who knows, maybe they were just misreading the whole situation and Tubbo had not been abandoned at all.

Tommy opened his mouth, looking as though he were about to ask another question, but decided against it in the end and turned back to look at the goat hybrid. He began to notice that the brunette’s curly hair was loosely knotted around his small horns and began to try and clean his hair up as carefully as a 4 year-old could.

Satisfaction, pride, and joy welled up in the young blonde’s chest when a tired, pleased murmur escaped the sleeping hybrid’s lips and he leaned into Tommy’s touch.

The house was silent for almost the next half hour, only being broken by Phil occasionally giving Wilbur an instruction as the two cooked and Techno speaking over the phone number after number.

It was only after Techno ended another call that he cleared his throat, causing Phil, Wilbur, and Tommy to all look at him. The piglin hybrid shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot for a moment, trying to figure out what to say before finally speaking up.

“So... Uhm... There’s a lady that lives a good few blocks away and... Uh... She said that for the past few years she’s seen a ram hybrid living on the streets with a child, practically connected at the hip since she never saw them apart. Occasionally stealing food, a jacket, and even alcohol, but never reported him out of pity...” Techno explained slowly, seeming to still be processing the story himself, “She tried to talk to him once land offer him food, only for him to pridefully refuse it and tell her off. She didn’t try to talk to him again after that... The last time she saw him wasn’t too long ago when she saw him hurrying down the street in the middle of the night, for once without his child... and... Erm... He never came back...”

The room was dead silent after that, everyone looking at Techno with wide eyes, except for Tommy who was glancing between his father and brothers in confusion, but choosing not to break the silence with questions.

Instead, Wilbur chose to speak up first, voicing the question on all their minds, “Then... What’s going to happen to Tubbo?” He whispered, looking at the sleeping child who had begun to stir.

Phil didn’t know how to respond as he looked at his three sons, who had all turned his focus onto him. Luckily, he didn’t have to hold it for long when a whimper could be heard from the couch.

Tommy looked down at Tubbo, his eyes widening slightly when he realized that the tired ram hybrid was now awake and looking around the house, his expression slowly growing more distressed as he looked around.

“Where... Where’s papa?” He squeaked out, his ears flattening against his head as he looked around, “Papa? Dad?” He began to call out, sitting up next to Tommy as tears began to well up in his eyes, another whimper escaping him.

Before anyone else could do anything, Tommy reacted first, talking Tubbo’s hands in his own, “Hey, it’s okay, remember? You let us bring you home so you wouldn’t be stuck in that old box?” He reminded Tubbo, offering him a wide smile.

Tubbo seemed to relax more than he had been before, but it was clear that the boy was still upset. Tommy looked around thoughtfully before his eyes landed on the bee plush that must’ve fallen off the couch while Tubbo had been sleeping. The blonde reached down and picked it up, handing it to Tubbo with a reassuring smile.

The ram hybrid gratefully took it, wrapping his arms around it and holding it close, a small sniffle escaping him as he rubbed his face into it. Tommy hesitated for a moment, trying to figure out what his next step should be to help his new friend, glancing over at the kitchen table where the soup had recently been set out in bowls along with some slices of bread Phil had bought from the bakery down the street.

Tommy tentatively reached forward before taking one of Tubbo’s hands in his own, causing the brunette to look up at him when Tommy smiled at him once more. The blonde boy gently lead Tubbo to the table and sat him in one of the seats before grabbing another chair and dragging it as close to Tubbo’s chair as possible, pulling himself up into the chair next to him.

Phil, Wilbur, and Techno all watched in awe as Tommy pushed one of the bowls to Tubbo before grabbing one for himself and showing the ram hybrid that it was for sure safe to eat. None of them had ever seen the youngest this gentle with anyone before, all of them having to pull themselves out of their shocked states at Tommy’s soft behavior to take seats at the table as well.

Tubbo began to carefully eat the soup, looking at Tommy trustfully. After the first couple spoonfuls, he began to rapidly down the warm soup, shoveling it all down until he accidentally began to choke on it.

This earned a laugh from Tommy, quickly bringing back the Tommy Phil, Wilbur, and Techno knew and loved, while the young boy still continued to be gentle with the abandoned child. “Oh my god! You gotta go slower or you might drown in soup!” He laughed, elbowing Tubbo lightly.

A smile immediately grew on everyone’s faces when Tubbo laughed in response, a wide smile spreading across the boy’s face. He put down his spoon before practically inhaling his bread, reaching towards the center of the table where more slices of bread rested on a plate, licking his lips hungrily as he wordlessly asked for more.

Wilbur reached forward, passing the bread to Tubbo as Phil spoke up. “Okay buddy, you gotta take it slower this time,” He told Tubbo gently, failing at hiding his amusement at Tubbo’s grabby hands when he had reached across the table, “If you eat to fast, you’re gonna feel sick.”

Tubbo took a couple of small quick bites before slowing down, smiling at Phil as his mouth was full of bread.

Before the family had a chance to fall into a comfortable silence, Phil decided to speak up.

“So, Tubbo” Philza spoke up after he swallowed a mouthful of soup, catching the young ram’s attention, “How old are you?”

An exited grin spread across Tubbo’s face as he put down his bread before holding up both of his hands with two fingers up on each. “Four and a half!” He pronounced proudly.

Tommy’s expression immediately brightened, his smile widening. “I’m four too!” He said excitedly as he looked at Tubbo.

Tommy had never gotten along with kids his age, using being to loud or brash for them, but Philza had hoped that he would be able to make his first friend by the time he started school when he would be able to be around more people, but Phil realized that it had turned out that Tommy had gotten his chance to make a friend at least a year early as he looked at Tommy and Tubbo and how happy they seemed together after only knowing each other for less than a day.

“Wow, that’s pretty old.” Philza chuckled with a gentle smile, causing Tubbo to bob his head up and down in agreement.

The 5 all continued to eat, Phil, Techno, Wilbur, and Tommy occasionally asking Tubbo a question, such as ‘What’s your favorite animal?’ which the answer was obviously a bee, or ‘What’s your favorite color?’ where the ram hybrid responded with green before beginning to ask them questions himself.

By the time Tubbo reached across the table for a fourth piece of bread after he finished his third bowl of soup, instead of passing him another piece, Techno pulled the plate of bread a little bit away from Tubbo, causing him to let out a small whine of protest.

“Erm- I think you’re gonna pop if you try to stuff more food into yourself.” Techno said, half joking, half worried with how much the small boy had been able to eat. Wilbur piped up soon after his twin had spoken, “Ya, you’re acting like you’ve never been fed!”

Tubbo wrinkled his nose in confusion as he looked at the twins, “I am full,” He told them, a puzzled frown resting on his face, “But papa always told me that whenever you find food, you gotta eat all of it ‘cause you never know when you’ll be able to again.” He informed them, reciting it as though it were a rule he was often told.

The table went quiet, the air in the room suddenly feeling heavy as they looked at Tubbo worriedly.

Phil looked at Tubbo, thinking through what he could say next before smiling at the ram hybrid reassuringly and asking him another question, trying to keep his worry out of his voice, “So, how long were you in that box, mate? I imagine it must’ve been quite boring.”

Tubbo tilted his head thoughtfully as he looked at his hands, counting with his fingers as he struggled to think of the word. At last, a smile spread across his face and he looked back up, holding up his hands with three fingers on one and four on the other. “Seven todays!” He told Phil, looking proud that he had been able to count that eye.

Even though Phil kept a smile on his face for the sake of Tubbo, but he felt his heart drop as that as he deciphered what Tubbo said, recognizing that seven todays meant seven days, a week.

For a week, Tubbo had been alone.

For a week, Tubbo had been hungry.

For a week, Tubbo’s father had abandoned him without turning back.

While Phil seemed to have a hold on his thoughts, Tommy on the other hand practically had no filter and was suddenly filled with disbelief and rage.

“How often did you even get to eat?” Tommy exclaimed in shock, “Did you even get to eat?! Why’d your father just leave you there!” Phil, Techno, and Wilbur all looked at Tommy in shock, giving him the look of ‘Nononono. Stop. Stop. No more talking.’ but Tommy didn’t seem to get the message.

Tubbo, starting to look slightly uncomfortable as his ears lowered slightly, “Whenever Papa could get food...” He said slowly before his tone grew more protective, “But- But he did the best he could and always shared his food with me and got me my bee and... He told me he would come back! And... and...”

Tears began to well up in Tubbo’s eyes once more as he talked about his father, his lip trembling as he looked down at his bee plush, squeezing it softly in his hands.

Tommy’s expression immediately changed to one of regret as he took one of Tubbo’s hands in his own, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” He told the ram hybrid, “Please don’t cry! I’m sorry!”

The young blonde continued to fret before suddenly choosing to pull Tubbo into a hug, wrapping his arms reassuringly around the younger boy.

Tubbo wrapped his arms around Tommy as well, a small whimper escaping him as he rubbed his face into Tommy’s shoulder. After Tubbo had collected himself a bit more, he finally piped up again, although slightly muffled by Tommy’s shirt.

“Papa... Papa’s not coming back... Is he..?” He asked, his voice hardly above a whisper, but still the only sound that filled the room.

Tubbo peered his eyes over Tommy’s shoulder, looking at Phil questioningly with teary eyes.

Phil’s heart twisted and he had to swallow heavily before offering Tubbo and small nod, “I’m so sorry Tubbo...” He said, reaching across the table slightly.

At that, Tubbo finally broke as small, pitiful sobs escaped from his throat and clung on to Tommy desperately. Tommy held Tubbo closer, looking as though he were trying to protect his new friend from the world.

Phil stood up slowly, soon followed by Wilbur and Techno, before gently picking up the pair of boys still holding onto each other and bringing them to the couch, which was bound to be more comfortable than the wooden kitchen chairs.

Before Phil had a chance to hug Tommy and Tubbo, Wilbur and Tubbo climbed onto the couch next to them before pulling Tubbo into a hug of their own, causing Phil’s three sons to all be protectively curled around the sobbing, distressed ram hybrid.

Phil looked at them with fondness and concern before sitting on the couch next to them himself, curling his wings around them, holding them close and keeping them warm.

They remained like that until Tubbo had fallen asleep, along with Wilbur, Tommy, and Techno. Phil was soon to follow.

When they had all awoken in the afternoon, they finally cleaned up Tubbo, having Tommy share some of his clothes that would fit the ram hybrid until they could get new ones, cleaned his messy hair, tended to any scrapes or bruises he had, before finally settling down once more for dinner.

It was a week later when Tubbo had been officially adopted into the family, bumping Phil’s number of sons from three to four, and he wasn’t complaining.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t actually end up super proud of this fic, but I still really hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
